Isaiah 40:21-31
The prophet Isaiah speaks tenderly and lovingly to the people of Israel who are in exile in Babylon. They have been enslaved for decades, but it is coming to an end. Isaiah gives a message of encouragement, hope, and reassurance to a hurting people. The focus of this proclamation is the incomparable greatness of God. He is the God of creation and the King of all kings. There is no earthly king that can compare to him, nor is there a god of man’s hands or imagination that compares to him. Isaiah ridicules any pretense of their importance. They are like grasshoppers (v. 23) and are blown away like stubble (v. 24). He tells the Israelites to worship the incomparable God of the universe (vv. 25-26).
Their God cares for them (vv. 27-31). There is no limit to his understanding love, and he gives power and strength to those who trust him (vv. 28-29). He forgives his people. God wants to splash down blessings on them, soaking them with his love even when they don’t deserve it. He wants to cascade refreshing water that eternally washes over them, and to allow that flow to splash over to others of the community.
As I trust in him, I will be refreshed and can soar like eagle wings of faith. I read somewhere that:
In crisis he delivers us -- we mount up with wings like eagles.
In busy times he delivers us -- we run and do not grow weary.
In routine times he delivers us -- we walk and do not faith.
Isaiah was saying that God’s people need to be tough-minded and trust in the eternal. And faith is what results in the victory in their lives. It is still true for today’s believers.
Derl K.
Isaiah 40:21-31
This is a scolding sermon, telling the Jews who turned to idols that they should have known better. Part of this problem might have come from intermarriage with foreigners who had other gods. They wanted to accommodate their mates and might have even tried to worship both the true and the phony.
We know a girl who was a college student who fell for a Muslim fellow and married him. She turned Muslim, and it nearly destroyed her parents. She tries to believe in both Christianity and Islam, but that doesn’t help. The only thing she is trying to do now that he has graduated is bring all religions together peacefully. She renounces what the jihadists are doing, partly because they only represent about 10% of Muslims and are hurting Muslims who have migrated to Christian countries like her husband.
When we look at the statistics, we see that the churches are losing many members in this day. A few are turning to other “interesting” religions like Buddhism or Scientology, and some are on the fence like Unitarians. One friend I had who was Unitarian told me that they were searching. My response was: “So when you find something, then you have to leave the group?” He did not think that was funny.
Some call themselves atheists, who are the most outspoken, but some call themselves agnostic. In Greek that implies “ignoramus.” I told them that at least they were still searching, and that if they asked God he would give them some light. He might not answer right away, but they must ask.
My guess is that many are just giving up because they get bored or find more appeal in money or power. They may even worship science or sex or sports or whatever else appeals to them.
There was a time in my youth when I was bored with church and the pastor’s sermons put me to sleep. It was not that I did not know the truth. I heard it from the beginning, from the church and from my folks... just like the Israelis heard it. Then we need a wake-up call like Isaiah’s words in our text.
We may stumble, but our God cares about us and will bring us back if we wake up and let him. Some will go through periods of dark and light, but there is hope for those who are faithful in their church attendance and trust in God to bring them back -- so don’t give up if you feel yourself straying.
Bob O.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Freedom is one of the best things in life. Greek philosopher Thucydides wrote: “The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.”
Freedom involves service. Nelson Mandela well explains this commitment: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and embraces the freedom of others.”
Related comments by Irish-American philosopher Elbert Hubbard and French existentialist Albert Camus respectively make similar points: “Responsibility is the price of freedom. Rebellion [the prime expression of our freedom] cannot exist without a strange form of love.”
Such freedom allows us to break the rules in order to become all things to all people. This is a bit like a loving parent or effective teacher learning the pop culture of their children in order to better serve and relate to them. You can only do this when you feel free to get out of the box of your own generational dispositions and learn to immerse yourself in the pop culture of youth.
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Judaism has three words for prophets, which were adopted by the early church without of modification. Roeh and chozeh have similar definitions, meaning “seer.” The dictionary defines “seer” as “one that predicts events or developments; a person credited with extraordinary moral and spiritual insight.” The third word is nabi, which means a person blessed with the Spirit causing an “ecstatic” dimension. A prophet is able to envision the future and convey that image with a sense of urgency. The prophets of Israel conveyed their messages in three distinct forms, all reflective in the early church. They were first and foremost preachers who eloquently extolled upon the scriptures. Could anyone surpass Moses’ allocution to the people of the golden calf (Exodus 32ff)? Second, in addition to preaching they often spoke in parables. Recall Nathan, as he told the parable of the one ewe-lamb to bring David suddenly to his senses (2 Samuel 12:1-6). Third, they were theatrical. There were times when words were useless, when the spoken word would not penetrate the refusal of men and women to listen and to understand. It was then that the prophets resorted to symbolic, dramatic actions, in the assurance that the eye could be opened when the ear closed. Recollect Ezekiel’s use of a sharp sword as a barber’s razor to demonstrate imposing judgment (Ezekiel 5:1ff).
Application: We need to have a sense of urgency in sharing the gospel message.
Ron L.
Mark 1:29-39
No! This is not Sharia law in the Bible! Jesus did not heal Peter’s mother so she could wait on them. I think she did it out of gratitude for one, but of course in that day a woman’s job was more in the kitchen. We must also remember when Jesus scolded Martha for working in the kitchen while Mary chose the better part and was listening to Jesus’ sermons. My wife does the cooking, but I do the cleaning up. Is that sexist? We each share the load. If she has a full-time job, I do more. If I am the only one working, then I expect her to do most of the work around the house. That is not the purpose of this text, so we had better move on and be open to other options.
The main lesson in the first part of this text is that Jesus healed the sick and drove out the demons. Some have trouble with the “demons.” I did also until I was invited to a Roman Catholic gathering where they prayed for people who exhibited demon possession. One lady was shouting curses and beating on her breast, and as the priest and some others laid hands on her and prayed for her she passed out and fell to the ground. When she got up she was smiling and healed. I was in shock! I knew that was not my calling, though I have prayed for the sick and many were healed. It still works today, and Jesus has given some fellow Christians that gift.
The thing that interests me is that Jesus does not want a lot of PR. He told the demons to keep quiet. He told several whom he healed not to broadcast his healing. He did miracles of healing not just for good publicity. He healed because he loved the people. Jesus came to preach and win people by his words. I’m sure he hoped that his healings would bring people in to listen to him. He wanted his words to win them and not just miracles. Miracles seem like the only thing the Pharisees were looking for.
I have tried to follow that pattern to win people. I did not shout that they were going to hell if they didn’t listen to me and shape up. I told them to be more low-key. So when people came I told them about Jesus’ love for them, a love so powerful that it could perform acts of wonder.
I snuck into an Oral Roberts healing service once, and one of those who were part of the crew said, “He has some who pretend to be healed come up first to prime the pump (so to speak), and that encourages others to come.” The crewmember felt that some were really healed, but it took a little advance show to encourage them. Unfortunately that may be true of many -- even solid Christians. We should just have faith and believe the word and not look for miracles.
Bob O.
Mark 1:29-39
Her bitterness enveloped her as a fog over marsh lands near a lake. She was an invalid starting from the days of her youth. The resentment over her handicap that placed restrictions on her activities in life was released on Dr. Cesar Malan, a minister that visited in her home. He listened to her outburst and venom as she spoke of her disdain for the circumstances and God who had put her in this predicament. Dr. Malan was touched by her physical problems, but spoke to her that it should not distract her from the most important need in her life... salvation. His challenge was that she would come to Jesus just as she was, with all her bitterness and anger.
Struggling with what she felt to be a callous attitude on the minister’s part, she began to feel God speak to her through his words. That day Charlotte Elliott gave her heart to Jesus and began her spiritual journey. Dr. Malan wrote her a letter and encouraged her to be strong in her faith in spite of the physical problems she encountered daily. His letters continued for years, and on the 14th anniversary of her conversion she was alone in the evening and thinking about her health and the limitation her physical condition placed on her ability to be used by God. She penned in song her autobiography, which countless individuals over the past nearly 200 years have identified with. Her song -- “Just As I Am” -- has been used as a hymn of invitation for decades for people to give their lives to Christ. The third verse possibly described her own pilgrimage:
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fights and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
What she felt, maybe you too have felt. God has come to heal our fears, just as he has done for Charlotte Elliott and for Peter’s mother-in-law in Mark 1.
(Ruth A. Tucker tells this story in Sacred Stories)
Derl K.
